An update on our Railmotor and our DH projects. Work on the Railmotor has been halted with all our limited energies focused on keeping our three current locomotives, the Fowler, the 10 Class and the Kasey, operational and importantly regauging the DH locomotive that has been sitting in the Walhalla yard for over a decade.
The DH is the priority as it will provide reliable and substantive pulling power, we will be able to haul all our carriages and take 100 passengers on each journey. This newer locomotive will also be able to travel longer distances and potentially help the railway with our goal of eventually returning the railway line back to Erica.
The railmotor concept of a single self-propelled car that can run a daily service, is fantastic will demand less crew, with what will be a cosy and comfortable ride. However, this project needs considerably more resources than currently available. The designs for every component – to transform an old tram body into a railmotor need to be highly detailed and raise considerable engineering challenges, currently beyond WGR. The rail motor even when completed will not be able to pull our heritage style carriages and it is not designed for this type of load or function.
Graeme is doing a meticulous restoration of this DH locomotive and making sure every element is correct with comprehensive project planning. We know Graeme will do a brilliant job as he has already completed the exact same project with Puffing Billy.
At the moment his hard work is a lonely task – with most work being done off site by specialist engineering firms, however once the locomotive is housed at Thomson we will be seeking many more people to step up and help us complete this restoration.
If you or someone you know is an available and interested to help us – they would be most welcome. We provide a travel reimbursement benefit to assist volunteers travel to Walhalla and a great team to work with. We are seeking volunteer mechanics, engineers, panel beaters, fitters anyone that has a mechanical trade that can help us restore this locomotive. Give us a call at Walhalla station on 51656280 and you can meet Graeme and find our more about how you might be able to help.
Thank you so much to all those helping us with this project so far.
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